Tom Curran suffers back injury, expected to miss start of T20 Blast

Tom Curran is expected to miss the start of the T20 Blast after being diagnosed with a stress fracture of the lower back for the second year in a row.

Curran announced in February that he would take an indefinite break from red-ball cricket, saying that prioritising white-ball cricket was "the right decision for my body and for my mental health".

But earlier this month, while playing in the Pakistan Super League, he reported pain in his lower back and scans upon his return to the UK revealed another stress fracture.

"Tom Curran returned early from the Pakistan Super League and scans have shown he has suffered a stress fracture of the lumbar spine," Surrey, his county, said in a statement.

The club did not put a timeframe on Curran's return, saying: "Tom will be out for a period of time whilst he recovers and undergoes rehabilitation at Surrey."

ESPNcricinfo understands that he is considered a doubt for the start of the Blast on May 20, and may miss the competition altogether depending on his timeframe.

He was also recently retained by Oval Invincibles on a £100,000 contract in the Hundred, which starts on August 1.

Curran, who recently turned 28, has played 60 times for England across all formats but has slipped down the pecking order at international level. His most recent appearances in ODI and T20I cricket came in July 2021.

He has spent the first two months of the year playing overseas, first for Desert Vipers in the inaugural edition of the ILT20 and then for Islamabad United in the PSL.